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was exporting? ir. Jordan said Hong Kong abhorred restraints
of any kind but recognised an obligation to discuss and if
necessary restrain exports of particular products where
these products are shown to be causing serious damage.
He had made his point about products Hong Kong did not export
at all to emphasise Hong Kong's view that the U.S. proposal
involved a major issue of principle. Clearly neither injury
nor actual threat of injury could possibly be demonstrated
in relation to a product that Hong Kong did not export to
the U.S. He added that the changing pattern of imports
suggested to him that domestic manufacturers did not shift
fast enough to meet changes in consumer taste and imports
moved in to satisfy demand.
87.
Mr. Nelmer did not think the figures bore this
thesis out. For example, in the year ending August 1969,
the U.S. had imported the following quantities of cotton
and man made fibre apparel:
cotton, 584,000 dozen m.m.f.
knit shirts: 567,000 dozen
cotton, 1,179,000 dozen m.m.f.;
dress shirts: 801,000 dozen
blouses:
983,000 dozen
cotton, 479,000 dozen m.m.f.; dresses:
103,000 dozen cotton,
58,000 dozen m.m.f.; other shirts: 800,000 dozen cotton,
690,000 dozen m.m.f.;
gloves: 516,000 dozen cotton,
902,000 dozen m.m.f. It seemed to him an anomaly that in
many cases imports of m.m.f. should exceed imports of the
restrained identical cotton item. Mr. Jordan agreed but said
/that
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